Germany 1918-33 was one of the most tumultuous periods in
history. Following the revolution in Russia, the German workers and
soldiers attempted to seize power in November 1918. Unfortunately, the
revolution was betrayed by the Social Democratic leaders.

Further revolutionary convulsions rocked Germany from 1919 to 1923.
By this time, a mass Communist Party had been formed, but following
advice from Zinoviev and Stalin, a classical revolutionary opportunity
in 1923 was missed.

This was a blow, not only in Germany, but internationally. The German
defeats served to strengthen the grip of the Stalinist bureaucracy in
Russia. This resulted in zig-zags of policy between opportunism and
ultra-leftism, which paved the way for the ‘Third Period’ with the
Social Democrats regarded as the main enemy.

With the rise of fascism, Leon Trotsky described Germany in 1931 as
“the key to the international situation”. “On the direction in which the
solution of the German crisis develops will depend not only the fate of
Germany herself (and that is already a great deal), but also the fate
of Europe, the destiny of the entire world, for many years to come,” he
explained.

Trotsky called for a United Front against fascism, but this was
rejected by the Stalinists. This paved the way for the victory of the
Nazis, leading to the Holocaust and the Second World War with its 55
million dead.

In this book, Rob Sewell argues that all this was not inevitable, and analyses those events, drawing out the lessons for today.